Disk-throwing gun.



R. H. LAKE.

DISK THROWING GUN.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 22, 1916.

1 ,2@4:,%82-. Patented Nov. 7, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

R. H. LAKE DISK THROWING GUN.

APPLICATION FILED 1AN.22. I916.

Patented Nov. 7, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 ROBERT H. LAKE, OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY.

DISK-THROWING GUN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. "2', 1916.

Application filed January 22, 1916. Serial No. 73,667.

To all whom it may concern disk throwing guns and projectiles therefor.

It is well known that a metal disk of a given weight can be thrown farther, by

. hand by the same effort, than a sphere of the same weight, the reasons probably being that there is less resistance of the air to the disk than there is to the sphere; and, more over, there is in the act of throwing the disk from the hand a rotary motion imparted to the disk by the fingers about its minor axis, which insures stability in flight, so that the thin edge of the disk only is exposed to the major resistance of the air.

It is the purpose of my present invention to apply this same principle to the propulsion of the projectilesfrom guns. The principle applies whether the gun be of large or small caliber,and in the accompanying drawings I have shown the invention applied, first, to asmall arm, and, second, to a semiautomatic cannon.

Reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 shows the breech of an automatic gun using feed strips carrying cartridges of my improved design; Fig. 2 shows a central Vertical section through the axis of the barrel of, the gun shown in Fig. 1; also through the cartridge case, parts being shown in elevation; Fig. 3 shows a horizontal section through the axis of the barrel and cartridge case parts being shown in plan; Fig. 4 shows a section along the line 44 of Fig. 2, and looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 5 is a detail perspective showsthe invention as applied to a semiautomatic gun, the gun being shown in section through the axis of the bore, and the cartridge case being shown partly in section and partly 1n plan, and the breech blockand one of the extractors being shown in plan; Fig. 8 shows a section through the inner tube of the gun barrel shown in Fig. 7, said section being alongthe broken line 8-8 of Fig. 7; Fig. 9 is a detail view showing the-cartridge case containing the rojectile which is shown in section in Fig. 7; and Fig. 10 shows a vertical section through the projectile.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 6, A represents the receiver of a small arm WhlCll may be of any suitable or desired type. In this particular drawing I have shown the construction shown in the patent to Laurence V. Benet, No. 958,078, granted May 17, 1910, and entitled Feed apparatus for automatic guns. I-do not claim any special invention in regard to the construction or operation of the breech closure or feed mechanism of the gun; the invention being confined to the parts comprising the barrel, the cartridge case and the projectile, as shown in Figs. 2 to 6, in which B represents the barrel of the gun comprising an inner lining and a sheathing therefor. The inner lining is preferably composed of two interlocking parts B and B having engaging shoulders I), as shown in Fig. 4, and inclined teeth I) at one side of the bore, with smooth inclined sur- D is mounted, which is provided with any suitable firing means, such as the center primer d. Carried in the forward end of the der chamber B", in which the cartridge case cartridge case D is the disk C, which is preferably made of steel or other heavy and rigid metal, and which is provided with sheathing 0 made of copper or other soft metal which, when the gun is fired, will engage in the-teeth 6 thus imparting a rotation to the projectile indicated by the arrow in Fig. 3. One side of the disk will slip along the smooth V-shaped groove in one side of the barrel, and the other side of the disk will engage the teeth I) in the opposite side of the barrel, and a rapid rotation will be imparted to the projectile as it leaves the gun. The cartridges may be fed to the barrel in any convenient way, as by mounting same in a feed strip E, and automatically V granted October 28, 1913, No. 1,07 6,875, and

entitled Semi-automatic guns. In this gun the lining is composed of the two members B and B shown in cross section in Fig. 8, the upper member being shown in Fig. 7 as in section along the line 7-7 of Fig. 8, and the lower member being shownin plan in Fig. 7. These two members are provided with engaging shoulders I) and the lower member 13 is provided with inclined teeth 6 at one side, and with a plane inclined surface b at the other side of the bore. Surrounding the lining are any suitable strengthening tubes or jackets F, G and H, and the tube G is provided with the chamber G" to receive the sliding breech block I and the extractors K. The operation of this breech mechanism is fully described in the Driggs patent aforesaid, and not being a part of my present invention will not be further described herein. Any suitable form of breech mechanism may be used with my invention.

In the form of invention shown in Figs. 7 to 10, the projectile C is shown as tapered toward one side only, being broader on top than on the bottom, as shown most clearly in Fig. 10. This projectile C is preferably made of steel or other hard and heavy metal, provided with the copper sheathing c, on its circumferential edges, adapted to engage and be cut into by the inclined teeth 6 of the lower member I? of the barrel lining shown in Figs. 7 and 8. When the gun is fired, a rapid rotary motion will be imparted to the projectile due to the engagement of the soft band 0 with inclined teeth I); and, owing to the fact that the band 0 flares forward, the tendency of the air beneath the same will tend to flatten the trajectory of the projectile and increase the range thereof, and also it is believed will make the projectile fly truer. Any tendency to lateral deflection, 'due to the unequal resistance of the air to the projectile, shown in either form of device, would, of course, vary with the range, and this deflection would be a constant one, so long as the initial velocity and spin of the projectile are constant, so that any error due to the lateral deviation can be readily compensated for by the proper construction and arrangement of the sights, as is well known in the ordnance art.

sired, so long as the feature of adisk-like' projectile, ada ted to engage teeth in the barrel and to e readily rotated about its minor axis by the force of the powder charges, is secured. I

I have shown the lining proper of the barrel made of two sections adapted to engage each other in sliding engagement, this being for the sake of convenience of manufacture, more especially in cutting the teeth therein; but I do not intend to limit the invention to any particular means of constructing the lining of the gun since this may be done in a variety of ways without departing from the spirit of my invention.

While I have shown in the drawings the projectile carried in the end of the cartridgecase, it will be obvious that with larger guns loose ammunition may be used, if desired.

It will be obvious that various other modifications might be made in the herein described apparatus, and in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts which could be used without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is l. A gun of the character described provided with a'bore elongated in cross section and provided with a plane surface along one side thereof, and with a series of teeth in the opposite side thereof, said plane surface permitting the sliding of the edge of a disk-shaped projectile thereon, and the said teeth imparting to said projectile a rotary motion during its passage through the'bore,

substantially as and for the purposes described.

2. A gun of the character described provided with a bore elongated in cross section and having fiat top and bottom walls, and

side walls, the side wall at one side of the bore being plane, and the opposite side wall being provided with teeth whereby one edge of a disk-shaped projectile is free to slide freely along one side of said bore, while there is imparted to it a rapid spinning motion by the teeth at the other side of said bore, substantially as and for the purposes described.

3. A gun of the character described provided with a bore elongated in cross section and having fiat top and bottom walls, and inclined side walls, the side wall at one side of the bore being plane, and the opposite side wall being provided with teeth whereby one edge of a disk-shaped projectile is free to slide freely along one side of said bore, while there is imparted to it a rapid spinning motion by the teeth at the other side of said bore, substantially as and for the purposes described.

4. A gun of the character described provided with a bore elongated in cross section and having fiat top and bottom walls, and

inclined side walls flaring outward from the bottom upward, the side wall at one side of the bore being plane, and the opposite side wall being provided with teeth whereby one edge of a disk-shaped projectile is free to slide freely along one side of said bore, while there is imparted to it a rapid spinning motion by the teeth at the other side of said bore, substantially as and for the purposes described.

5. In a gun of the character described, the combination with a barrel provided with a bore elongated in cross section and provided with ,a plane surface along one side thereof, and With a series of teeth in the opposite side thereof, of 'a disk-shaped projectile having edges-adapted to slide freely along said plane surface, and to engage and be rotated by said teeth, substantially as and for the purposes described.

6. In a gun of the character described, the combination with a barrel provided with a bore elongated in cross section and having fiat top and bottom walls, and side walls, the side wall at one side of the bore being plane, and the opposite side wall being provided with teeth, of a disk-shaped projectile having beveled edges adapted to slide freely along said plane surface, and to engage and be rotated by said teeth, substantially as and for the purposes described.

7 In a gun of the character described, the combination with a barrel provided with a bore elongated incross section and having flat top and bottom walls, and inclined side walls, the side wall at one side of the bore being plane, and the opposite side wall being provided with teeth, of a disk-shaped projectile having beveled edges adapted to slide freely along said plane surface, and to engage and be rotated by said teeth, substantially as and for the purposes described.

8. In a gun of the character described, the combination with a barrel provided with a bore elongated in cross section and having fiat top and bottom walls, and inclined side walls flaring outward from the bottom upward, the side wall at one side of the bore being plane, and the opposite side wall being provided with teeth, of a disk-shaped with a plane surface along one side thereof,

and with a series of teeth in the opposite side thereof, of a disk-shaped hard metal projectile having a soft metal band secured over its outer rim, said band being adapted to slide freely along said planesurface, and to be indented by said teeth, whereby a spinning motion is imparted to the projectile as it passes along the bore, substantially as described.

1O.v In a gun of the character described, the combination with a barrel provided with a bore elongated in cross section and having flat top and bottom walls, and side walls, the side wall at one side of the bore being plane, and the opposite side wall being provided with teeth, of a disk-shaped hard metal projectile having a soft metal band secured over its outer rim, said band having a beveled perimeter adapted to slide freely along said plane surface, and to be indentedby said teeth, whereby a spinning motion is imparted to theprojectile as it passes along the bore, substantlally as described.

11. In a gun of the character described, the combination with a barrel provided with a bore elongated in cross section and having flat top and bottom walls, and inclined side walls, the side wall atone side of the bore being plane, and the opposite side wall being provided with teeth, of a disk-shaped hard metal projectile having a soft metal band secured over its outer rim, said band having a beveled perimeter adapted to slide freely along said plane surface, and to be indented by said teeth, whereby a spinning motion is imparted to the projectile as it passes along the bore, substantially as described.

12. In a gun of the character described,

the combination with a barrel provided with a bore elongated in cross section and having flat top and bottom walls, and inclined side walls flaring outward from the bottom upward, the side wall at one side of the bore being plane, and the opposite side wall being provided with teeth, of a disk-shaped hard metal projectile having a soft metal band secured over its'outer rim, said band having a beveled perimeter adapted to slide freely along said plane surface, and to be indented by said teeth, whereby a spinning motion is imparted to the projectile as it passes along the bore, substantially as described.

13. A projectile for use in guns of the character described, comprising a diskshaped hard metal body portion and a metal band secured about the perimeter thereof.

14. A projectile for use in guns of the character described, comprising a diskshaped hard metal body portion and a soft metal band secured about the perimeter thereof, said band having a beveled perimeter.

15. Aprojectile for use in guns of the character described, comprising a diskshaped hard metal body portion and a soft metal band secured about the perimeter thereof, said band having a beveled perimeter in the form of an inverted truncated cone when the projectile is in the bore of the gun.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature.

ROBERT H. LAKE. 

